Kuehne + Nagel International AG's (VTX:KNIN) stock price dropped 5.7% last week; private companies would not be happy

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private companies in Kuehne + Nagel International indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• 55% of the company is held by a single shareholder (Kühne Holding AG)
• 18% of Kuehne + Nagel International is held by Institutions

If you want to know who really controls Kuehne + Nagel International AG (VTX:KNIN), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are private companies with 55% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

As market cap fell to CHF29b last week, private companies would have faced the highest losses than any other shareholder groups of the company.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Kuehne + Nagel International.

View our latest analysis for Kuehne + Nagel International

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Kuehne + Nagel International?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

We can see that Kuehne + Nagel International does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Kuehne + Nagel International, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Kuehne + Nagel International. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Kühne Holding AG with 55% of shares outstanding. This essentially means that they have extensive influence, if not outright control, over the future of the corporation. UBS Asset Management AG is the second largest shareholder owning 3.3% of common stock, and BlackRock, Inc. holds about 3.1% of the company stock.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Kuehne + Nagel International

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our information suggests that Kuehne + Nagel International AG insiders own under 1% of the company. We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. It is a very large company, so it would be surprising to see insiders own a large proportion of the company. Though their holding amounts to less than 1%, we can see that board members collectively own CHF36m worth of shares (at current prices). In this sort of situation, it can be more interesting to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 26% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Kuehne + Nagel International. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 55%, of the shares on issue. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Kuehne + Nagel International you should be aware of.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.